Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Quantifying Nanoplastic Toxicity Using Gold-Core Polystyrene Nanoparticles: In vivo Evaluation and Human Risk Extrapolation

Researchers used gold-core polystyrene nanoparticles as a dual-detectable model to quantify nanoplastic toxicity in vivo, finding that chronic exposure induced intestinal accumulation and systemic toxicity, and used these data to extrapolate human health risk thresholds.

2025 SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología
Article Tier 2

Multi-endpoint toxicological assessment of polystyrene nano- and microparticles in different biological models in vitro

Researchers assessed the toxicity and transport of polystyrene nano- and microparticles using multiple human cell models, including intestinal and placental barrier systems. They found that while neither size was acutely toxic, the nanoparticles were able to cross the intestinal barrier and showed some embryotoxic potential. The study suggests that nanoplastics may pose greater health concerns than microplastics due to their ability to penetrate biological barriers.

2019 Toxicology in Vitro 274 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate, uptake and impact of fit-for-purpose nanoplastics on the digestive environment: an in vitro-in vivo continuum study

Researchers used fluorescently and gold-labeled polystyrene nanoplastics as models to study how these particles behave in the digestive environment and what effects they have on gut health. The study revealed that nanoplastics interact with the digestive system in ways that depend on particle labeling and surface properties.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Toxicity-based toxicokinetic/toxicodynamic assessment for bioaccumulation of polystyrene microplastics in mice

Researchers developed a toxicity-based modeling framework to quantify how polystyrene microplastics accumulate in mouse organs and trigger biomarker responses. They found that the gut had the highest bioaccumulation factor when exposed to 5-micrometer particles, with a mean residence time of about 17 days. The study establishes threshold concentrations for toxic effects and provides a framework that could help extrapolate findings from animal studies to assess potential human health risks from microplastic consumption.

2018 Journal of Hazardous Materials 290 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate, uptake and impact of fit-for-purpose nanoplastics on the digestive environment: an in vitro-in vivo continuum study

Researchers investigated the fate, uptake, and impact of fluorescent and gold-labeled polystyrene nanoplastics on the digestive environment, using fit-for-purpose labeled particles to track nanoplastic behavior in biological systems. The labeled nanoplastics enabled detailed mapping of how plastic nanoparticles are processed in the gut, providing mechanistic insight into absorption pathways.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

An innovative in vitro model of IBD to assess micro-/nano-plastics intestinal toxicity.

Researchers developed an innovative in vitro intestinal inflammation model (IBD model) to assess the toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics at realistic concentrations and polymer types, moving beyond the high-dose polystyrene-only studies that dominate current literature.

2023 Repository of the University of Namur
Article Tier 2

Potential adverse health effects of ingested micro- and nanoplastics on humans. Lessons learned from in vivo and in vitro mammalian models

This review compiles recent studies on the effects of ingested micro- and nanoplastics using mammalian in vivo and in vitro models to assess potential human health implications. The authors found that while substantial research effort has been made, significant gaps remain in understanding absorption, biodistribution, and toxicity of these particles in mammalian systems. The review provides recommendations for improved testing methods to generate more relevant and targeted data for human risk assessment.

2019 Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part B 272 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of polystyrene nanoplastics with in vitro models of the human intestinal barrier

Researchers assessed the effects of polystyrene nanoparticles on two in vitro models simulating the human intestinal barrier and its associated immune system. The study found that while cell viability and membrane integrity were largely maintained, the nanoparticles were able to interact with and translocate across the intestinal cell layers, raising questions about potential long-term exposure effects.

2020 Archives of Toxicology 169 citations
Article Tier 2

Demonstrating the translocation of nanoplastics across the fish intestine using palladium-doped polystyrene in a salmon gut-sac

Researchers used palladium-doped polystyrene nanoplastics to quantitatively measure nanoplastic uptake across the fish intestine in a salmon gut-sac model. The study found that between 200 and 700 million nanoplastics entered the intestinal tissue within four hours, with a fraction passing completely through the gut wall, providing evidence that nanoplastics can potentially distribute throughout the body.

2021 Environment International 96 citations
Article Tier 2

Systemic effects of nanoplastics on multi-organ at the environmentally relevant dose: The insights in physiological, histological, and oxidative damages

Researchers gave mice nanoplastics at doses estimated to match real-world human exposure levels and found the particles crossed the intestinal barrier and accumulated in the liver and kidneys. Even at these low, environmentally relevant doses, the nanoplastics caused oxidative stress and tissue damage across multiple organs. The findings suggest that everyday nanoplastic exposure may pose broader health risks than previously assumed.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 40 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review of nanoplastic bioaccumulation data and a unified toxicokinetic model: from teleosts to human brain

Researchers developed a toxicokinetic model using teleost fish uptake and depuration data to project how nanoplastics accumulate in human organs over a lifetime of chronic exposure. The model predicted that brain concentrations could reach ecologically concerning levels given current exposure estimates, and identified the gut-to-blood transfer rate as the key parameter governing long-term tissue accumulation.

2025 arXiv (Cornell University)
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics as a potential environmental health factor: effects of polystyrene nanoparticles on human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells

Researchers tested how polystyrene nanoparticles interact with human intestinal cells in the lab. They found that the nanoparticles were readily taken up by the cells in a concentration-dependent manner, but no significant toxic effects were observed under the conditions tested. The study suggests that while nanoplastics can enter gut cells, their short-term toxicity at the tested levels appears limited.

2019 Environmental Science Nano 203 citations
Article Tier 2

Ingested nano- and microsized polystyrene particles surpass the intestinal barrier and accumulate in the body

Researchers fed mice nano- and microsized polystyrene particles for up to 24 weeks to study intestinal barrier crossing and accumulation. The study found that plastic particles accumulated in the small intestine and distant organs, though they did not promote intestinal inflammation or worsen colitis, while noting that long-term accumulative effects on gastrointestinal health cannot be ruled out.

2021 NanoImpact 68 citations
Article Tier 2

In vivo , in vitro , and in silico toxicology studies of nanoplastics and their modeling

This in vivo, in vitro, and in silico study assessed nanoplastic toxicity through multiple complementary methods, finding concentration-dependent toxic effects on cellular and organismal endpoints and using computational modeling to predict interaction mechanisms relevant to nanoplastic risk assessment.

2025 Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods
Article Tier 2

The Uptake and Distribution Evidence of Nano- and Microplastics in vivo after a Single High Dose of Oral Exposure.

This in vivo study provided evidence on the uptake and organ distribution of nano- and microplastics following a single high-dose administration, finding that nanoplastics translocated rapidly to multiple organs through blood circulation while only small amounts of larger microplastics penetrated organs.

2024 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of gold nanoparticles complicated by the co-existence multiscale plastics.

This study examined how co-exposure to gold nanoparticles and plastic particles of different sizes modifies the toxicity of gold nanoparticles, finding complex interactions that altered toxic outcomes compared to gold nanoparticles alone. The results highlight that real-world toxicological risk assessment must account for co-contaminant interactions rather than testing pollutants in isolation.

2024 Frontiers in microbiology
Article Tier 2

In vivo impact assessment of orally administered polystyrene nanoplastics: biodistribution, toxicity, and inflammatory response in mice

Researchers orally administered polystyrene nanoplastics to mice for two weeks and tracked their distribution and biological effects. The nanoplastics accumulated primarily in the intestine, kidneys, and liver, triggering significant inflammatory responses and oxidative stress in these organs despite no visible tissue damage. The study provides evidence that even short-term oral exposure to nanoplastics can cause meaningful inflammatory changes in multiple organ systems.

2021 Nanotoxicology 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of UV Aging on the Toxicity and Bioavailability of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)-Traceable Core–Shell Polystyrene Nanoplastics in an In Vitro Triculture Small Intestinal Epithelium Model

Researchers developed gold-core polystyrene nanoplastics traceable by mass spectrometry to study how UV aging affects nanoplastic toxicity and uptake in a human intestinal cell model. The study found that UV aging altered the surface properties and biological behavior of nanoplastics, highlighting the importance of studying environmentally realistic, weathered particles rather than only pristine laboratory materials.

2025 Toxics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Defining the size ranges of polystyrene nanoplastics according to their ability to cross biological barriers

Researchers systematically examined polystyrene nanoplastics of different sizes to define the size ranges at which they can cross biological barriers, providing a more precise definition of nanoplastic dimensions relevant to toxicological assessment.

2023 Environmental Science Nano 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Penetration of micro/nanoplastics into biological barriers in organisms and associated health effects

This Chinese-language review systematically examined how micro- and nanoplastics penetrate gastrointestinal, respiratory, and skin barriers in humans and model organisms, and how they translocate via blood circulation to accumulate in organs including the liver, brain, testes, and placenta.

2023 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version) 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Nanoplastics as Carriers of Metals. Interactions of Polystyrene Nanoparticles with Silver Nanoparticles and Silver Nitrate, and Their Effects on Human Intestinal Caco-2 Cells

Researchers investigated whether polystyrene nanoplastics can act as carriers of silver contaminants, testing their interactions with silver nanoparticles and silver nitrate and their combined effects on human intestinal Caco-2 cells. The study found that nanoplastics can adsorb silver compounds and that the combined exposure increased toxicity compared to either contaminant alone, suggesting nanoplastics may enhance metal uptake in the human gut.

2021 Biomolecules 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic Toxicity: Insights and Challenges from Experimental Model Systems

This review summarizes what researchers have learned about nanoplastic toxicity from studies in cell cultures, aquatic organisms, and terrestrial animals. Evidence indicates that nanoplastics can be internalized by cells through various mechanisms and their toxicity depends on factors like particle size, surface modifications, and concentration. The study identifies key knowledge gaps and recommends more systematic research to better understand the health risks these particles may pose to humans.

2022 Small 85 citations
Article Tier 2

Imaging and quantifying the biological uptake and distribution of nanoplastics using a dual-functional model material

This study used advanced imaging techniques to visualize and quantify nanoplastic uptake and distribution in biological systems, tracking particle translocation from exposure routes into tissues and characterizing intracellular localization.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Blood uptake and urine excretion of nano- and micro-plastics after a single exposure.

Mice exposed to polystyrene nanoparticles (100 nm) and microparticles (3 µm) via different routes showed that smaller particles appeared rapidly in blood and were detected in urine, while larger particles cleared more slowly. The study provides direct evidence that nanoplastics can cross biological barriers and enter circulation, with potential for distribution throughout the body.

2022 The Science of the total environment